Naruto: Strength of the Soul
by The Red Star
Summary: The legendary blades Soul Edge and Soul Calibur have been at war for many a millenia. See the battle continue in Naruto! Rated M for dismemberment and future gory scenes.


**Hello, loyal readers! This is a story that I started writing roughly a month ago. I've been playing a lot of Soul Calibur, and I got this idea one day. Tell me what you think, and if I should keep at it.**

**LET THE READING COMMENCE!**

* * *

Long after the age of Siegfried and Nightmare, the legendary weapons, Soul Edge and it's counterpart Soul Calibur, faded into obscurity, becoming little more than myth. In time, people began to learn to manipulate the energy within their own bodies, which they dubbed chakra, and used it to manipulate the very elements of the earth. With this newfound power, people forgot about the warring blades, and they faded from remembrance entirely… until now…

A teenager with long black hair, deathly pale skin, and snake like eyes looked at a glowing red shard held in his hand. He had found it upon completing a mission with his teammates. The shard gave off an aura of extreme power, power he had not sensed in anyone, not even his sensei. The more he stared at it, the more he was entranced by it. He wanted this power. No, it's not enough, he wanted _more_…

"Hey, Orochimaru!" his white haired teammate called. Orochimaru quickly hid the shard in his pocket and stood up.

"What is it, Jiraiya?" he asked impatiently.

"Sensei said we've got another mission! Come on! Tsunade-chan's gonna meet us at the usual spot!" he said, motioning for Orochimaru to come along. Orochimaru followed, silently sticking his hand inside his pocket to grasp the shard of power. In time, he would find more of this powerful shard. He would use it to make himself the strongest Shinobi ever! A sadistic grin appeared on Orochimaru's face as he thought this, which went unnoticed by his teammate. It would be many years before he found another shard…

Uzushiogakure (A few years later)

"I'm gonna miss you, Kaa-chan…" a red headed little girl said as she hugged a woman who appeared to be an older version of her.

"I'll miss you, too, Kushina-chan." the woman replied. Kushina looked up at her mother sadly.

"Why do I have to go to Konoha?"

"It's to keep you safe, Musume. I can't let you get hurt." the woman said, kissing her forehead. The woman reached behind her and took a long object wrapped in a navy blue cloth off of her back. She handed it to Kushina. "Never lose this, Kushina-chan." Kushina gripped the object as tightly as she could.

"I won't, Kaa-chan." the girl said before a male member of her clan came and began to lead her towards the gate.

"I love you, Kushina-chan." the woman called after her daughter. Kushina turned back around to see her mother.

"I love you too, Kaa-chan!" she shouted before she left the village. Kushina's mother then rushed to the second gate on the west side of the village. She arrived to see a man standing in front of the gate, an enormous pile of corpses bearing the Uzumaki clan symbol around him. The man was wearing a sadistic grin on his face, his eyes rife with insanity. He had long blood red hair and amber eyes. He wore no shirt, revealing his muscular body. His right arm was deformed, having only three fingers, each of them having a talon, and was enlarged. It looked as though a human head would fit in the palm! Spikes protruded from the shoulder, the skin next to it looking as if it had been poisoned. He wore black armored greaves, talon-toed boots, and a spiked fauld over black Shinobi pants. In his left hand was a wicked looking blade. It had a golden handle that shown brightly. Slightly higher than the hand guard was a flesh-like growth, parts of it going over the hand guard itself. The growth went about halfway up the blade before it stopped, revealing the shining silver blade. (Soul Edge: Nauplius).

"Why are you doing this?" Kushina's mom asked as she unsheathed her blade. The sword was a simple Jian, with no defining attributes. The man chuckled darkly and lifted up his blade, shouldering it.

"**Simple. I crave powerful souls. Yours is the most powerful in this wretched village. Give me your soul!**" the man shouted, charging the woman. She took a combat stance.

'_Be safe, Kushina-chan…_' she thought before locking blades with the crazed swordsman.

With Kushina

"Is she gonna be alright?" Kushina asked her caretaker. He looked down at her.

"Of course she is, Kushina-sama. Your mother is the strongest warrior in Whirlpool. No one could ever defeat her." the man reassured. Inwardly, however, he was quite worried. This man had slaughtered nearly every warrior in whirlpool _other _than Kushina's mother with very little effort. The fight would be quite challenging, even for her. He suspected that was why she had sent him with Kushina as protection in case she lost. He was confused as to why she gave _that _to Kushina, however. He had thought it would be more useful in the battle. She might have even been able to _win_. "She'll probably be at Konoha in a few days to pick you up."

"You're not gonna stay at Konoha, are you?" the girl asked. The man shook his head.

"No, I'm not. I am to return to Uzushio after escorting you to Konoha." the man stated. "Now come on. We want to be there as fast as possible." the man said as he lifted her up before he began running through the trees.

Uzushiogakure

The man laughed maniacally as he dropped Kushina's mother to the ground, a large gash across her torso. She didn't move even slightly.

"**Ah, your soul fills me with power! But I no longer sense that wretched holy energy. Where did you put it?**" he asked her unmoving corpse. The man charged into the village and began ripping buildings apart to find what he seeked, only to find nothing. He roared out in fury. The roar was heard throughout the elemental nations, sending a call to all warriors.

The hunt was on.

Later…

Kushina dropped to the ground, panting. She dropped the blade that she had been practicing with from the sheer exertion. It had been a few years since she had left Uzushio, and she had realized that her mother was dead. Rather than break down, however, she resolved to train as hard as she could, to make her mother proud. After receiving word that her mother was dead, she opened the package that her mother had given her to see that it was a beautiful sword. The blade resembled a jian in basic shape. It had a one-handed grip and a pommel that resembled four faces. Just above the handle, a blue sphere that pulsed with power rested, what looked like silver talons gripping it to the handle. Two fin-like objects wrapped from the blade of the weapon around the orb, seemingly protecting it. As for the blade itself, it curved outward as soon as it reached away from the handle, but then curved back into a narrow blade. At the apex of the curve, where it looked almost like a diamond, it split in two, the center of the blade disappearing. The two sides continued on, though, coming to two separate points. (Soul Calibur [Xianghua version])

"Kaa-chan…" Kushina whispered, gripping the sword's handle. She was going to master this blade. She was going to make her mother proud!

5 Years Later

"Kushina-chan, where are you taking me?" a spiky blonde haired boy shouted as Kushina dragged him to her house, quickly opening her door.

"I have something special I want to show you, Minato-kun." she said to the confused blonde. She continued to drag him through the building until she came upon a room with a large door. She stopped and released his hand, allowing him to stand up straight. The door had no overt special qualities, save for it being twice the size of a regular door.

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" he asked.

"No, it's in the room, Baka." she answered. She put her hand to the door, which began to glow. Symbols of an odd shape appeared all over it, then vanished. A _click_ was heard, and the door opened. Kushina led Minato inside and brought him to a pedestal that had a rather beautiful weapon placed on it.

"What is it, Kushina-chan?" he asked, marveling at the weapon, which seemed to give off an aura of purity.

"It's the last thing I got from my Kaa-chan before she died. She told me to never lose it. It's called Soul Calibur." she explained, lifting the weapon off of the pedestal. She turned and gripped the blade by the handle. She extended her arm, the blade pointing outwards. She gave it a few deft spins, then set it back down.

"Why'd you show this to me?" Minato asked. Kushina blushed.

"I… I wanted the person most special to me to see the object most precious to me…" she mumbled. Minato heard her, however, and smiled, embracing her.

"Thank you, Kushina-chan…" he said lowly, kissing her on the cheek. When he pulled back, he saw that her face was bright red. He chuckled. "Come on, Kushina-chan, let's go get some ramen." he held her hand and led her out of the room, not noticing the loving smile on her face.

10 Years Later

"Orochimaru!" Jiraiya shouted to his friend, trying to get him to turn around. When he did, he was surprised. In Orochimaru's hand was a rather large shard.

"Go back home, Jiraiya. I'm not going to let this village hold me back anymore." he stated sinisterly. He held up the shard. "This will give me all of the power I need. There aren't any more in the village, so I must move on. The power of this 'Soul Edge' will make me immortal!"

"Don't do this, Orochimaru…" Jiraiya pleaded.

"What possible reason could I have for _not_ doing it? I should have done it sooner! Konoha is rotting, Jiraiya. Your precious pupil can't save it, not even with that girl's wretched power."

"You're wrong, Orochimaru. They'll keep the will of fire going, long after we're both gone."

"After you, certainly. I shall be there to see you proved wrong. Farewell, Jiraiya." Orochimaru stated before vanishing into the darkness. It would be many years before they saw one another again…

A Few Years Later…

"Push, Kushina-chan!" Minato repeated the doctor's words as Kushina proceeded to crush the life out of his hand.

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH YOU DAMN ASSHOLE! IT'S YOUR FUCKING FAULT I'M IN THIS SITUATION!" Kushina shouted as she attempted to bring her and Minato's child into the world. With a final scream of pain, their child finally exited it's mother. The doctor cleaned it up and wrapped it in a blue blanket. He handed the baby to Kushina.

"It's a boy, Kushina-dono." the doctor told her with a smile. Kushina looked down at her blonde-haired son with a smile, cradling his small form.

"Welcome to the family, Naruto-chan…" she said, smiling. Minato rubbed his wife's shoulder, smiling at his newborn son as well. The moment would not last, however, as an ANBU burst through the door.

"Hokage-sama!" he shouted.

"What is it?"

"There's a man with a large blade attacking shinobi in the village!"

"And? Surely you don't need me to deal with him?" Minato questioned, a confused expression on his face.

"That's the thing, sir. Any of our ninja that get close in get cut to pieces by his blade. If we use any jutsu, he can somehow dispel them by swinging his sword. Nothing we do can stop him!" the ANBU stated. Minato looked down at Kushina, who was frowning in thought.

"Can you give me a description of this man?" she asked the ANBU, who looked to the new mother and nodded after a second.

"Of course. He is wearing black armor on his legs, no upper clothing whatsoever, he has a large three fingered deformed arm, his sword looks somewhat organic, and he has long blood red hair" Kushina's eyes widened. That sounded like…

"I'll deal with him. Guard my wife." Minato ordered the ANBU, who saluted. Minato was about to leave, when he was grabbed by Kushina, eyes still wide.

"Don't go, Minato-kun. I know who that is! He's the same monster who killed my mother! I don't want to lose two people I love to him!" Kushina pleaded, only to have Minato gently stroke her face.

"I'll be fine, Kushina-chan. I'm the Yondaime Hokage, remember?" he reassured with a grin. Kushina still looked scared.

"Please don't go, Minato-kun…" she pleaded again. Minato was about to reply when the hospital door was broken down by the very man they were discussing.

"**Ah, there you are! You look just like your mother. And your soul is even stronger! You will make Soul Edge far stronger!**" the man exclaimed before hefting his blade and charging. The ANBU agent drew his ninjato and turned to attack the man, only to be run clear through, his ninjato flying through the air. Not missing a beat, Minato grabbed the ninjato and attacked the crazed warrior. They locked blades as soon as the man flicked the dead ANBU off of his blade, barely being able to block.

"Who are you?" Minato questioned firmly as they locked blades.

"**Call me… Nightmare!**" the man said, a crazed grin on his face, before punching Minato in the face with his mutated arm, knocking him to the floor. Minato was barely able to roll before the man's blade pierced the floor where he once was. Minato got back to his feet and glared at the deranged swordsman.

"Why are you doing this?"

"**Power of course. Strong souls feed Soul Edge. The stronger it gets, the stronger I get. Soon I will be invincible!**" the man shouted, laughing insanely. Kushina's eyes widened once more.

"Minato-kun, I know that weapon! You can't beat him!"

"Have a little faith in me, Kushina-chan." Minato replied, still focusing on the man calling himself Nightmare.

"He's wielding the Soul Edge! It's a cursed weapon! You won't win unless you have Soul Calibur!" Kushina shouted, gaining Nightmare's attention.

"**So you have that blasted weapon… After I take your souls, I'll have to get rid of it.**"

"I don't think so." Minato said as he charged forward, once again locking blades with the man. The man effortlessly held him back.

"**You may be fast, shinobi, but you share the critical weakness all shinobi have. You lack power.**" the man stated before pushing Minato back and cutting him across the torso. He moved to Kushina. "**Now, then. Give me your soul…**" he stated darkly, grabbing her by the throat with his deformed arm, said arm glowing with power. Kushina was struggling to remove his grip while Naruto began to cry. The man suddenly grunted in pain and released Kushina. He looked down and saw that Minato had stabbed the ninjato halfway into his body. Kicking the bleeding man in the face, he turned back to Kushina, only to find her not there. Furious at the lost chance to make his Soul Edge more powerful, he let out an animalistic roar that shook the entire hospital. He turned to the downed Hokage, only to find him missing as well.

"**Damned shinobi! I'll rip this entire village to pieces! You cannot escape from this Nightmare!**" he shouted before punching a hole through the wall, making his way through the hospital until he found his targets.

Kushina's House

Minato lay sprawled on the floor of the room that held Soul Calibur, his wife not that much further away, cradling their child as she struggled to stand up.

"We have to stop him, Minato-kun…" Kushina said as she failed to get up, falling back to the ground. Naruto began to cry again, and she immediately moved to soothe him. Minato was clutching his stomach wound, which was steadily bleeding. It wasn't profuse, but it wasn't a small cut. He managed to pull himself over to Kushina.

"How are we going to do that, Kushina-chan? You just gave birth. You're in no position to walk, let alone fight, and with this wound he gave me, I won't be able to beat him, even if I used Soul Calibur." Minato pointed out, blood slowly dripping from his wound. "I could barely focus enough to get us out of there."

"So what exactly do you think we should do?" she asked in frustration.

"**Let me deal with the pretender.**" a deep, dark voice sounded from the doorway. They turned to see a man in azure blue armor. The right arm was deformed like the man who attacked them, only there was a mouth at the shoulder. It extended over the chest, a similar mouth on it as well. The helmet was unique, however, in that a long horn at the forehead of the weapon, a fin on the back in a pattern similar to a Mohawk that stopped at the middle of the top of the head. The armor completely covered the man, leaving only his golden eyes visible. In his left hand was a very large sword. The handle resembled a spine in shape, the color a burnt red. The blade itself took up most of the sword, being a reddish orange. Flesh-like veins covered the blade, covering a purple crystal in the center of the sword. At the bottom of the blade, a large purple crystal resembling, and _moving _like, an eyeball sat, glowing with power. (Nightmare's default costume [SCIII])

"Who are you?" Minato questioned warily, silently reaching for a kunai.

"**Have no fear, mortal. I came here only to kill that pretender.**"

"Pretender?" Kushina questioned.

"**Yes. He wields a small fragment of Soul Edge and thinks he can claim the title of Nightmare. That title is **_**mine**_**. Any others who claim it are fools. I see why he targeted you, though…**" he trailed off, looking between them and Soul Calibur. "**Worry not, warrior of light, your petty weapon is safe for the moment. That blade is of little interest to me.**"

"You're not even going to take it? Kaa-san's scrolls said that any who claimed to be Nightmare seeked Soul Calibur's destruction." Kushina asked, a confused look marring her features.

"**Most do, warrior of light. I simply wish for the right to exist. So long as that blade doesn't impede me, I have no quarrel with you.**"

"**But I have one with you!**" the man claiming to be Nightmare shouted from behind him. The Azure Knight turned to see the false Nightmare pointing his blade at him.

"**Let me guess. You sensed my Soul Edge and seek to use it to make yours stronger, then take their souls and destroy Soul Calibur.**" the Azure Knight stated. The false Nightmare smirked and charged the knight. Said knight sighed and grabbed the false Nightmare's blade with his deformed arm. "**You're nowhere near my level, mortal. You don't deserve this.**" the Azure Knight said before ripping the sword out of his hands and stabbing him with his portion of the cursed blade. A powerful energy drained from the man's body into the sword. When Nightmare ripped his sword out of the pretender's body, the man's arm was no longer deformed and his eyes turned hazel. Not sparing the fallen warrior a second glance, he placed the warrior's Soul Edge on his back, hefting his own onto his shoulders. He turned to the family.

"What now?" Minato whispered to his wife, who was too shocked at the man's rather quick kill to answer. Before either of them knew, he was in front of them. He looked at them calculatingly.

"**You both are not long for this world.**" he stated frankly. "**With that cut, you will bleed out in about five minutes. As for you,**" he began, turning to Kushina, "**your soul has been infected with Soul Edge's power. If left to it's own devices, you will die as well.**"

"W-What about Naruto?" Minato said, beginning to feel the lack of blood in his body affecting him.

"**Your son is fine. Nothing that has happened today will harm him, save that he will be forced to live a life without parents.**" Nightmare stated, looking down at the sleeping baby.

"Is there anything you can do?" Kushina asked, now sensing Soul Edge's power within her.

"**Not for your husband.**" Nightmare said, turning to the woozy Minato. "**I can do something for you, however, but you'll have to make a deal with me…**" he stated, his golden eyes gleaming…

* * *

Kushina awoke with a gasp, the only noise other than the campfire crackling. She looked around and saw the familiar camp setup.

"**Bad dream?**" she heard behind her. She turned to see that same Azure Knight who had saved her years ago.

"Memories. Old memories…" she answered.

"**Dreaming of your son again?**" he asked, receiving only a nod in response. "**Well, it's almost time. Our deal is nearly complete. One more year and you'll get to see him.**"

"I know. I remember. But, looking back on it, why did you make that deal with me? You saved me and ensured Naruto-chan's survival in exchange for my company. Why? All these years, all we've done is train, travel, and talk." it was true. She had expected him to do something more sinister, not that she was _hoping_ he would…

"**As I said when we made the deal, I have my reasons, Kushina-dono. Most people who know who I am simply think that I am like all of the other Nightmares, just as you did. I have my own reasons, my own goals, and I will do what is needed to accomplish them.**" he stated. She nodded and looked at the jian laying next to her. Shortly after she had recovered enough to travel without him carrying her on his back, he had taken her to Uzushio, where she had found her mother's remains laying in the ruins. After giving her a proper burial, she had taken her mother's blade as her own, and had proven to be a formidable match for the Azure Knight. She never won, but he had admitted to not trying to seriously injure her, which led her to question just how strong he really was.

"**Anyway, get some rest. You'll need your strength for tomorrow.**"

"Are we going to get rid of those four that have been following us?" she asked. They had been followed by squads of shinobi before, but never for this long. Nightmare didn't like being spied on, and often decapitated the entire team before sending the heads back to the respective villages, save for Konoha Nin. In spite of his protests, she never allowed him to harm any Konoha Nin, unless they attacked first.

"**In a manner. You don't need to kill your enemy to defeat them.**" he stated, and she could tell he was smirking under that helmet. After spending nearly a decade and a half with someone, you tend to learn a few things about them.

"At this point, I don't even want to know. I'm going back to sleep." she said before lying back down, faintly hearing his grunt of acknowledgement before she heard him moving to begin patrol of the camp. For some odd reason, he rarely slept. He refused to answer her whenever she asked him about his powers, as he did with any personal questions.

As she began to fall back to sleep, she thought about their odd arrangement. She wouldn't call herself his ally, but she wasn't really his captive either. And yet he protected her as if she were one. The first time he protected her, he simply stated that he was upholding his end of their deal. She noticed a recurring theme between them. He confused her, and when she confronted him about it, he refused to answer. And yet, no matter how annoyed he seemed, he had never once harmed her. He hadn't even touched her since he saved her from death. He was confusing, to say the least. Well, at least she could sleep soundly with him on guard.

Nightmare clicked his claws together as he saw Kushina slowly fall asleep. She wasn't afraid of him, in spite of his weapon and appearance. She was willing to get in his face over something so trivial as the life of a Konoha Nin. She was a formidable opponent. She was a very interesting woman. He was almost going to miss her when the time was up. He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts and exited the camp to find those annoying shinobi so that he could deal with them in the morning.

* * *

**And done!**

**Now, before anybody says anything about Nightmare being OOC, this is NOT the same Nightmare from the Soul series. There is a person under that armor, and I guarantee you will not be able to guess who it is. Feel free to try, though!**

**On another note, be sure to give me a real review, people. I would rather have ten well written and descriptive reviews than 100 "update soon"s. Till next time!**

**Forever in the Sky,**

**The Red Star**


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